‘Paul can be clearly seen as the most significant figure of the New Testament, but the New Testament is not about Paul; rather these texts invite us to see how Paul brings the life, death and resurrection of Christ alive’ - Michael A Hayes
With reference to the quote above, evaluate St Paul’s ongoing impact on Christianity and Christian living.
Paul of Tarsus is one of the most important figures in Christianity and has been a significant influence on Christianity and by extension Christians today. “Paul can be clearly seen as the most significant figure of the New Testament” due to his missions, his work to spread Christianity and his impact on the religion as a whole. He has influenced many of the fundamental practices and beliefs of the
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St. Paul strove to make Christianity more accessible to people who were gentiles by challenging the idea that the Jews were God’s chosen people. The Council of Jerusalem is an epitome of this as St. Paul believed that the church “should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God” (Acts 15:19). He decreed that the observation of the Torah and circumcision, believed to be a sign of the Abrahamic Covenant, was not necessary to become a Christian. This allowed many gentiles to join the Christian movement as Paul had altered the customs to accommodate them. By doing this Christianity was able to spread more easily throughout Europe especially in the Roman Empire. This makes it evident that “Paul can be clearly seen as the most significant figure of the New …show more content…
During the 16th century the Protestant Movement occurs where Martin Luther protests against the Catholic Church. This movement starts the Protestant denomination with several variants in Northern Europe. Martin Luther used St. Paul’s teachings as a basis of his reformation, but the Catholic Church criticised him for overshadowing the message of Christ with Paul’s unique writings especially ‘Salvation by Grace’. He explains that “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith” (Ephesians 2:8) and this teaching is used to point out the corruption of the Catholic Church in context. The development of Christian denominations and variants signifies Paul as “the most significant figure of the New Testament, but the New Testament is not about Paul”. This is because Paul’s teachings are based on Christ’s life which is distinct from Christ’s ideas taught through a Jewish context rather than through Greek lens. Paul has impacted the Christian living through the focus on his teachings with the birth of the Protestant denomination which has forever affected the Christian
Firstly, Ruden gives Paul partial credit for the growing popularity of Christianity because of the equality and compassion that he preached to others. He offered every person a sense of belonging no matter what background they came from, she claims (Ruden 37). Paul was offering a sense of belonging to a community as well as a life full of eternal riches and glory for people to inherit after death. The rising Christian population was inevitable as Paul and others in the Christian faith were offering this inheritable heaven to those who had no claims to any of these things. Paul even offered a better life for the slaves of the communit...
In 1 Corinthians 12-14, Paul set out to address the issues of exclusivity and the divide among the converts of Corinth that has been caused because of spiritual gifts. Paul set a guideline to his converts in Corinth to create order and conduct during times of worship in 1 Corinthians 14:26-33. Doing so, Paul hoped that the divide that has been caused from those with special or “exclusive” spiritual gifts do not cause other believers to become jealous or envious. Paul’s guideline to the Corinthians showed the leadership that Paul had that allowed him to guide the Church to become Hellenistic in just one generation.
Paul’s response was concerning ecclesiastical and doctrinal controversies. These Jewish-Christians were teaching false doctrine to the Gentile members. They taught that to be saved one must be circumcised and observe the ritual requirements of the law. Paul believed a Gentile did not need to go through the ritual requirements of the law, Gentiles were welcomed into the church through baptism professing faith in Jesus the Christ. In Acts 15:24-29 the Apostles and elders of the church did call the Gentiles to live within the moral teachings of the law, most specifically to avoid idolatry and sexual sin and counseled them on kosher restrictions when eating with others who were Jewish so as not to offend and complicate ministry amongst the Jewish communities. The account in Acts actually attest to the controversies of Gentile reception in the church and what their obligation to the law would be. This is the problem Paul is trying to rectify in
Paul, also known as Saul, was an apostle of God who wrote the book of Ephesians and was sent to set up churches for Him. He changed his name from Saul to Paul because he wanted to start his life over, follow God, and live for Him. He wanted to start over because he was known as a man who persecuted Christians. Saul did not even notice he was doing wrong until he started to reach Damascus and a voice yelled from the Heavens saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Saul answered back, “Who are you, Lord?” then the Lord answered, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But, rise and enter the city, and you will be told what to do.” For three days Saul was made blind by Jesus and did not eat or drink. Then, Ananias walked into where Saul was staying and restored his sight, something like scales fell off his eyes and he could see. After being in Damascus with the disciples he proclaimed that Jesus is the one true God. Then, he fled to Jerusalem where he joined the disciples with the help of Barnabas, changed his name to Paul and became a missionary to Christ. He set out on three missionary journeys where on his third, he was put under house arrest in Rome for two years where he wrote the book of Ephesians. After his release, he left, went to Spain, and was eventually persecuted and martyred by Nero.
In de-emphasizing the role of the Church, it’s rituals, and offices, and supplanting them with a more direct and personal approach to God and spirituality; the Protestant Reformation, through the works of Martin...
Paul the Apostle, was a famous preacher of first century Christianity and was God’s tool used to spread the light of the gospel to the Gentiles. Paul is credited fir having written many books in the New Testament of the Bible. He was born an Israelite to a clan of the tribe of Benjamin, speaking the Aramaic and Hebrew tongues from infancy. He was an enthusiastic student and a stringent devotee of the Torah. He was the man that later had a peculiar meeting with the Lord Jesus Christ while on the road to Damascus. His life and duty were considerably altered and in turn eventually changed the course of the development of Western Civilization and culture.
In all human history, there are rare occasions of great individuals who not only have profound effect on future generations, but who also stand the test of time and scrutiny for millennia. These people are often thought to be great leaders of society or business but when we go back even farther in time, the great thinkers and societal leaders and influencers were more often also some of the great religious influences of their day. Religious influences like Origen of Alexandria and Tertullian, even the great philosophers like Socrates and Plato have all left a make on society and Christianity. This essay briefly introduces Athanasius of Alexander and Eusebius of Caesarea, two major influences of the Christian belief that were significant in shaping some of the fundamental principles of Christian faith and principles.
To some magnitude some of the academics studying Pauline literature may argue that Paul was the most prominent in founding Christianity as well as spreading Jesus Christs gospel beyond the Jews from the cities of Asia Minor, Greece, and eventually to Rome. Just as in the first and second century, the Pauline legacy still holds great significance and relevance throughout history and in today’s cutting edge society. For instance as stated in the book ‘Paul and the Christian woman’ by Brendan Byrne SJ, ‘The debate concerning Paul’s attitude towards women intensified in the early 1970s as the feminist movement began to make an impact upon New Testament studies’.
During Luther’s early life he faced a severe inner crisis. When he sinned he looked for comfort in confession and followed the penance, the fasting, prayer and observances that the church directed him. But, he found no peace of mind and worried about his salvation. But reading St. Paul’s letters he came to believe that salvation came though faith in Christ. Faith is a free gift, he discovered, it cannot be earned. His studies led him to a conclusion that, “Christ was the only mediator between God and a man and that forgiveness of sin and salvation are given by god’s grace alone” (Martin Luther, 01). Historians agree that, “this approach to theology led to a clash between Luther and the Church officials, precipitating the dramatic events of Reformation”.
Paul has given an extraordinary of example of humbleness to those who preach and teach the Gospel. Although, the Apostle Paul was well known prepared on any theological subject, he went to Jerusalem to meet with other apostles to verify that his message was alienated with the Gospel. Therefore, pastors and church leaders should look intentionally for spiritual mentors that help them to grow in their knowledge of the Gospel. (121, Habermas)
Jesus and Paul are two crucial characters in the New Testament. They both depict the Gospel on which Christianity is based upon, but there is debate about rather these two versions of the Gospel are complementary. Scholars like George Shaw claim that Paul is “anti-Christian,” and he “produced a fantastic theology” (Shaw 415-416). On the other hand, I believe that even though Jesus and Paul may present the Gospel different at times, they are still advocating the same religion. Through the understanding of the Gospels and Paul’s letters it is clear that Jesus and Paul have the same underlining goals and values.
Besides Paul's humble and radically changed image found in his introduction, he also explains that he is one who is "called". His apostleship wasn't a man apointed thing, but a matter fully bestowed upon him by God. Paul was chosen and sent on a mission, and he had authority to represent God. Reading this gives great hope to us, the believers of today
The Apostle Paul is known as the greatest missionary of the early church. Paul, who once vowed to wipe out belief in Jesus Christ, was later converted to do the work of Christ. He would author almost half of the 27 books in the New Testament. He endured sickness, rejection, and repeated attacks on his life to bring the message of God's grace and forgiveness to Gentiles. Paul was the apostle largely responsible for the solid inception and growth of Christianity. He spoke before Jews, Greeks, and Romans. Paul is known as the apostle to the Gentiles. He defended God's Word before kings and emperors of this world. By the end of his life, much of the Mediterranean world had been reached with the gospel.
The known world was impacted by the spreading of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which was done by the first century church with great passion. These early followers of Christ set the world on fire, by relaying the Good news of Jesus Christ, first to the nation of Israel then to the gentile world. The Bible tells us that the Apostle Peter was commissioned to bring the announcement of Christ’s death and resurrection to his Jewish brethren, whereas, the Apostle Paul was chosen by Christ to bring the Gospel message of salvation to the gentile world. The early works of the church are recorded in a series of letters that have become known as the scriptures of the New Testament.
Today Christians see Christ somewhat through the prism of Paul's teaching. My dear follower, Luke, would write one of the Gospels as well as the Book of Acts. My life was vitally shaped by a dramatic meeting with Christ on the Road to Demascus and it was this drama, coupled with his fervor that would mold Christianity for the next two Millenia.